In the opening game of the Pete Frates Winter Classic hockey tournament on Saturday, it took St. John’s Prep about two periods and 10 minutes of game time against BC High to clamp down and play winning hockey.

On Sunday, in the championship game against Pope Francis, the scrapping, hustle, and frenetic defense were there from the start, leading to a 2-1 victory at Merrimack College.

“I think in the first period we were on our heels a little bit. You could tell they were fired up,” said Pope Francis coach Brian Foley, “and they took it to us a little bit.”

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The Eagles took a 1-0 lead when Dan Tighe scored on a pass from Anthony Quartieri on a two-on-one fastbreak 10 minutes into the game.

In those first 15 minutes, St. John’s Prep played keepaway effectively, seizing control of the time of possession and setting the tone.

The intensity and effort was visibly higher for the Eagles on the second day of the tournament.

“When you win the Super 8 by doing little things, blocking shots, and playing defense, you finally believe that’s what you need to do to win games, and that’s something we haven’t had to teach as much this year,” said St. John’s Prep coach Kristian Hanson. “And right now we are thrilled that we won the tournament and we are thrilled that we got the points.”

The Eagles jumped to a 2-0 lead in the second period when Paul Edson scored on a play sparked by the speed of Mitch Shaheen, who flew down the right wing and passed to Quartieri, who set up Edson for a tap-in goal.

Quartieri, a forward, finished the tournament with 4 points.

In the third period, Pope Francis briefly turned the tables, scoring on a shot in the crease by Riley Paterson. The Cardinals kept the pressure up, but Prep’s All-Scholastic goalie Kyle Martin got stingy and preserved the lead for his Eagles.

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“Anyone will tell you the most important person on the ice is the goalie,” said Hanson, “And we are fortunate to have Kyle.”

Framingham 5, Marshfield 5 — Sophomore Neil Shea and junior Andrew Fithian both had 3 goals and 1 assist as the 18th-ranked Rams (1-1-1) advanced to the championship game of the MHL Cup Holiday Classic.

Newburyport 3, Acton-Boxborough 1 — Tyson Gudaitis, Dylan Rogers, and Scott Webster scored for the Clippers (3-1), who won their third straight game.

Austin Prep 3, St. Mary’s 2 — Louis Finocchiaro scored the winning goal in the third period to lift the second-ranked Cougars (2-0-1) in the Christie Serino Christmas Tournament in Malden.

Sandwich 2, Wayland 0 — Craig Hatfield made 36 saves to record his first shutout of the season, earning Judy Kostas tournament MVP honors for the Blue Knights (3-3).

Malden Catholic 2, Hingham 0 — The third-ranked Lancers (1-1) scored a pair of third-period goals to advance to the championship game of the Christie Serino Christmas Classic.

Catholic Memorial 7, St. John’s (Shrewsbury) 3 — Tyler Reynolds scored twice and Justin Storer had a goal and assist, but the Pioneers fell in the first round of the CCM Holiday Classic in Framingham. St. John’s (1-4) will face the winner of Sunday’s game between Marshfield and Framingham at 5 p.m. Monday in a consolation game.

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St. Peter-Marian 4, Mansfield 0 — Cole Archambeault had a goal and assist, while Ryan Carey made 36 saves to earn a shutout as the visiting Guardians (3-4) cruised past the Hornets (0-3-2) in the consolation game of the Cape Cod Freeze Out at Kennedy Arena. Nick Palermo, Nick Pennucci and Charlie MacDonald also scored for St. Peter-Marian, while Connor Leonard had two helpers.

Girls’ hockey

Boys’ basketball

Bishop Fenwick 69, Winthrop 63 — Junior captain Ryan Veguilla scored a season-high 33 points, 28 of which were scored in the second half, to propel the Crusaders.

St. Peter-Marian 71, Hopkinton 70 — With the Guardians trailing by two, senior guard T.J. Darton sank a 3-pointer from just beyond halfcourt with 2 seconds left to give SPM (4-2) a win over the Hillers in the consolation game of the Bartlett Holiday Hoops Tournament in Webster. Darton finished with 14 points, while junior Juan Zorrilla and freshman DeMarr Langford both added 11 for the Guardians.

Concord-Carlisle 68, BC High 44 — Senior center Eric Sellew led the way with 21 points for the Patriots (3-1).

Malden Catholic 65, Marblehead 44 — Junior guard Mike Boyd netted a game-high 25 points to lead the Lancers (4-0) in the first round of the Saugus Holiday Hoops Tournament.

Fenway 51, Swampscott 49 — Melvin Cuevas and Jonathan Daveiga scored 16 points each for Fenway (4-5), who advanced to the championship game of the Saugus Holiday Hoops tournament.

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Saugus 68, Stoneham 49 — Senior forward Dan Bertrand led the way with 18 points in the win.

Wachusett 59, Shrewsbury 43 — Wachusett opened the second quarter on a 12-4 run and closed the third quarter with a 9-0 spurt as the Mountaineers got 17 points from Tyler Dion to help upend the Colonials in a semifinal of the Laska Yuletide Invitational at Assumption. Wachusett will face St. John’s at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the final, while Shrewsbury will take on Doherty at 5 p.m. Wachusett’s Tyler Burgess added 13 points, while Owen Quinn hit three 3-pointers for nine points. Shrewsbury’s Steve Vayda had 20 points to lead all scorers.

Nashoba Valley Tech 61, Sizer 39 — Sean Etienne had 19 points and Chris Fusco added 15 to pace the host Vikings (3-1) past the Tigers (2-3) in the semifinal of the Nashoba Tech Holiday Tournament. The Vikings face Lowell Catholic in Monday’s title game at 7 p.m., while Sizer will face Presenation of Mary in the consolation at 5. Luis Santiago had 21 points for Sizer.

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Auburn 42, Assabet 40 — The Rockets’ Nate Ramos sank three of four free throws down the stretch to help Auburn hang on to defeat the Aztecs in the first round of the Rocket Classic at Auburn High. Auburn will face Westboro in the final at 7 p.m. Monday, while Assabet will take on Lunenburg in the consolation game at 5 p.m. Conor Scully and Marc Louis each had 10 points to lead the Rockets. Ralph Grasso Jr. had 18 of his game-high 28 points in the second half, burying eight 3-pointers to keep Assabet in the game.

Westborough 68, Lunenburg 52 — A.J. Nowak had a game-high 26 points and Michael Doherty added 15 points to power the Rangers (2-3) past the Blue Knights (0-5) in the semifinal of the Rocket Classic at Auburn High. Westboro will face the winner of Auburn-Assabet in the title game at 7 p.m. Monday, while the Knights will play the loser in the consolation at 5. Connor Palma’s 11 points paced Lunenburg, while Travis Ewen and Tristen Dechenes both had 10 points.

Bartlett 62, Worcester South 59 — Eric Sgariglia had four 3-pointers, including one with 12.9 seconds left to account for the winning points to give the Indians a win in the Bartlett Holiday Invitational. Sgariglia finished with 19 points, while Anthony Grzembski added 18 points and Tyler Davern scored 13 points for Bartlett. Otis Wheeler led all scorers with 23 points, while Francis Derenamie added 22 points for the Colonels.

St. John’s (Shrewsbury) 72, Doherty 48 — Senior Adham Floyd scored 20 points, while classmates Nick Lukasevicz (14 points) and Joe Murphy (12 points) chipped in to send the Pioneers to the final of the Laska Tournament. St. John’s will look for its third straight title and seventh overall against Wachusett at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Assumption. Shrewsbury and Doherty will play the consolation game at 5 p.m.

Hopedale 47, Bellingham 42 — Brian Espanet had a team-high 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds to propel the visiting Blue Raiders (2-2) past the Blackhawks (1-3) in the semifinal of the Bellingham Christmas Tournament. Hopedale faces Dedham in the final at 7 p.m. Monday.

Coyle & Cassidy 50, Bellingham 35 — Senior forward Grace Orfanello led the way with 15 points to lead the Warriors (4-0).

Central Catholic 43, Andover 36 — Kaylee Thomas scored all seven of her points in the fourth quarter to lead the Warriors (3-1) past third-ranked Andover to advance to the championship game of the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic.